HIV Positive Trucker ‘Infected More Than 50 Women,’ Say Police

An HIV positive Colombian truck driver has allegedly raped and infected more than 50 women across the country.

The Dailymail is reporting 57-year-old Libardo Rojas Duenas may have ignored state-issued medical advice after being diagnosed with the deadly virus on 2006. Police are stating Duenas raped a 16-year-old in the city of Cúcuta the following year and soon discovered she had contracted the sexually transmitted disease.

The news site is also stating he used his job to travel throughout the country, avoiding being capture by police. This could have given him more opportunity to attack other victims. While Duenas had consensual sex with other women, he reportedly did not use protection, putting them at risk.

Police are stating the trucker put more than 50 women at risk due to his “uncontrollable rampage.” Duenas is being charged with rape and “knowingly contaminating another person with HIV.” Purposely infecting other people could condemn him to prison for up to 12 years.

According to Colombian statistics provided by UNAIDS, there were an estimated 160,000 people living with HIV in 2009 and 50,000 of them were women ages 15 and up. That same year, there were 14,000 deaths due to AIDS.

AIDS.gov describes HIV as human immunodeficiency virus, which weakens the immune system, causing flu-like symptoms. HIV, they state, can hide for long periods of time in the body while attacking cells that fight infection. HIV can lead to AIDS, the final stage of the infection.

Radio Santa Fe reported Duenas was detained in Gorgonzola, an area located in the Colombian capital of Bogota. An investigation is ongoing.